Actually, as far as the cash is concerned, Beth and I are not out of the woods as yet, but if there is anything further I can do to be of help in the way of money please let know by return mail. The information you requested in your form letter of April 7 is as follows: Name, present address, passport No., date released, date returned to United States of America, beneficiaries. There is one thing I would like to take up with you at this time, but which I doubt anything can be done at this late date. The story is as follows: When Beth and I returned to Texas with the two children we stayed there about a month and returned to Portland, Oreg., to work for the Willamette Iron & Steel Corp. While we were there we made application to the proper authorities on specified forms stating our losses, etc., and they were sent to the office in Seattle. We waited for about a year and then took a job in South America with the Mene Grande Oil Co., and left as our forwarding address, C. M. Lovestead & Co., 2214-2216 First Avenue South, Seattle, Wash. Now, it seems that during our absence this claims committee was changed to the Philippines Rehabilitation Committee, and they sent out forms requesting your name and complete address. They, however, sent these forms to 2214-2216 First Street, and the forms were returned to them marked "No such address," and as there was a time limit on this new address system our claims and any losses were automatically canceled. As I stated before, it is doubtful that anything can be done at this late date, but should it be possible I would like to reopen the case, and you can see for yourself in the files exactly what has taken place. It seems a shame that we should lose this claim for the mere fact that there was a mix-up in the change of address. If there is anything you can do on this matter I should appreciate it very much if you can help us. Sincerely yours, G. HARDEN PLOWMAN. GREAT WESTERN CORDAGE SALES CO., INC., CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE COMMITTEE, This letter is being written in the hope that additional benefits may be forthcoming for many internees who are presently in dire need of additional aid. For example my youngest son David who is now 13 years of age is under care of heart specialists at the University of California Hospital in San Francisco and is being prepared for major heart surgery. This practically irreparable damage was suffered as a result of internment in the Philippines. As you undoubtedly know, many internees have died since their incarceration in Santo Tomas and in many cases no claims have as yet been filed. Bank accounts in most of the Philippine banks were never repaid. The writer for example had an account in the Bank of the Philippine Islands and this account at this writing still remains a total loss. Although the War Damage Commission did assist the Americans by offering a small percentage payment for losses, these payments of course did not in any way approach the value of the losses of our household effects and personal property. It is the writers understanding that war-claim payments to American citizens are to be covered by German and Japanese assets and as a result would be no burden on the American taxpayer. The writer respectfully solicits your assistance in supporting the hearing to be held in Washington, D. C., in the very near future in the hope that additional benefits to American war prisoners may be forthcoming. Very truly yours, Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of May 1954. STUART R. BARNETT. HAZEL E. THOMPSON, Notary Public in and for the city and county of San Francisco, State of California. My commission expires October 14, 1954. Mr. HINSHAW. Perhaps I should ask one more question of Mr. Friedman or Mr. McCarthy, one or the other, and that is: Is there any argument to be made on either side of this question as to whether or not the amounts paid in pesos would not represent depreciated pesos or, when paid, represented depreciated pesos as against the standard exchange rate of 2 pesos to the dollar? Mr. FRIEDMAN. I think not; in the case of the banks certainly not. I discussed this question at great length with the General Counsel of the War Claims Commission at the time that he was preparing his report. He raised the very question that you have now posed. And I think I demonstrated to his satisfaction that, in the case of the banks, one peso, by compulsion of law, was like every other peso. The banks were forced to take in at any given time whatever the legal tender pesos were, and then pay them out. In the case of the payments that were made in the case of my bank, the payments were made directly in United States dollars. There is no question about good or bad. Mr. HINSHAW. At the rate of 2 pesos to 1? Mr. FRIEDMAN. Two pesos to the dollar. But in the case of the banks a peso was always a peso. They were forced, and that was one of their big losses during the war. You probably recall that many people had prewar borrowings from the banks, and that during Japanese occupation when the Mickey Mouse currency depreciated and went to practically zero, everybody rushed in to the banks and paid off their prewar loans. Well, the banks, after the war, tried to get some rectification of this, and didn't succeed. They suffered the loss. But the banks were always in a position where there was no differentiation between pesos. So the loss in the case of the banks-I don't know the other situations of other concerns-but it was a 100-percent loss, whatever they paid out. And the rate of exchange has not changed. The official rate has always been 2 to 1. It has not changed from prewar. Mr. HINSHAW. Do you not think a date ought to be placed in this bill? Perhaps I ought to ask that question of Mr. Wilson or somebody else. For instance, the deposits that were contained to the credit of these individual corporations on, say, January 1, 1942, did you make a cutoff date of any kind when you paid? Mr. FRIEDMAN. No; not to my knowledge. Mr. HINSHAW. In other words, I suppose you could draw checks against that account clear up to the time of the sequester by the Japanese in 1944. Mr. FRIEDMAN. That may have been true. I don't know. It was not involved in my situation. I don't know. Mr. MCCARTHY. The bank at Taiwan when they issued their order drew a check embracing all the accounts within 2 weeks or 3 weeks thereafter, embracing all the accounts they had in the banks that belonged to American nations, and sent that to the Bank of Taiwan. Then in 1946 they reestablished those accounts in United States dollars. Mr. FRIEDMAN. You see, Mr. Chairman, in my case I did not have the same problem because the China Bank, just like National City Bank and the two British banks, was immediately closed and liquidated as an enemy. The other bank, the Philippine National Bank, was later forced to reopen by the Japanese under compulsion. It had to. The China Bank was gone; it was in enemy hands. So I did not have that problem. Mr. WILSON. May I make a statement? Mr. HINSHAW. Mr. Frank Wilson. Mr. WILSON. The Philippine National Bank was closed for business on December 28, 1941, and the China Bank was closed, I think, the day before because they were scared, you know. But they were accepting checks in the Philippine National Bank up until about a month after we were captured; I know that. Mr. HINSHAW. What I am trying to get at is the time we can establish as a cutoff date. Mr. WILSON. I should say December 30. Of course, there are two banks involved, the Philippine National Bank Mr. HINSHAW. Of course, as to December 30, there might have been checks for a great many pesos honored after that date. Mr. WILSON. Yes; but not by the banks themselves. Mr. MCCARTHY. The cutoff dates I would mention would be the dates the banks turned the funds over to the Japanese Government. Mr. HINSHAW. I think it would be well for you gentlemen to discuss that subject in this memorandum which you are going to submit. Mr. FRIEDMAN. Of the cutoff date. Mr. HINSHAW. The cutoff date. Mr. FRIEDMAN. As to the establishment of credit. Mr. HINSHAW. That is right. General BLUEMEL. May I make a statement? Mr. HINSHAW. General Bluemel. General BLUEMEL. I have been officially informed that the Japs entered Manila on January 1, 1942. Mr. HINSHAW. We thank you. You were then on Bataan or Corregidor? General BLUEMEL. I was then on Bataan, and if you wish to know how I obtained the information I can tell you that. Mr. HINSHAW. That might be interesting. General BLUEMEL. There was a chaplain, a Filipino chaplain of one of the regiments in my division, who appeared at my command post about the 15th of January, and I asked him where he had been and what he had been doing. The Japs had caught him and had him working on a bridge across a river. I asked him where they caught him, and he said they caught him in Manila, and he was present in Manila and saw the Japs enter on the 1st day of January 1942. That is on what I base my information. Mr. WILSON. I will second that. I was there. Mr. HINSHAW. You were present? Mr. WILSON. I watched them come in. Mr. HINSHAW. I think that covers the subject pretty well. Mr. HINSHAW. Have you any further questions, Mr. Mack? Mr. HINSHAW. I note we have obtained the date on the Philippine independence becoming effective, and that was July 4, 1946, although the date of the enactment of the resolution by the Congress was something earlier than that. There are several departmental reports, and, of course, they will be included in the record of the hearings. Do you wish to make any additional statement, Mr. Wilson? Mr. WILSON. No, sir. As far as I am concerned, it has been well covered. Mr. HINSHAW. Mr. Frank Wilson represents the American Internees Committee. Then the hearings are concluded, and the committee will consider in executive session the record and the recommendations made. Mr. HINSHAW. The committee will now consider H. R. 7711. (H. R. 7711 and the reports follow :) [H. R. 7711, 83d Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To provide for a study of the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and starvation suffered by prisoners of war and civilian internees during World War II and the hostilities in Korea Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the War Claims Commission, in cooperation with, and with the assistance of, the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, is hereby authorized and directed, within the limit of funds appropriated pursuant to the authority of this Act, to make all necessary arrangements for the conduct of medical and scientific research activities to determine the mortality rates and the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and imprisonment sustained by members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian American citizens who were imprisoned by enemies of the United States during World War II or by forces with which the United States has been engaged in armed conflict after June 25, 1950. The War Claims Commission shall report the results of the research activities conducted pursuant to this Act to the President for transmittal to the Congress. The results of such research activities shall, to the etxent practicable, be used by the War Claims Commission, the Veterans' Administration, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for the purposes of determining— (1) the procedures and standards to be applied in the diagnosis of the mental and physical condition of former prisoners of war; (2) the life expectancy of former prisoners of war; (3) whether there is evidence to sustain a conclusive presumption of service connection in favor of former prisoners of war for purposes of hospitalization in Veterans' Administration facilities; and (4) standards to be applied for the evaluation of claims of American civilian and military personnel based upon the physical and mental consequences of the conditions of their imprisonment, in the event such claims are later made compensable. SEC. 2. There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Hon. CHARLES A. WOLVERTON, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives. DEAR Mr. CHAIRMAN: This letter is in response to your request of February 4, 1954, for a report on H. R. 7711, a bill "to provide for a study of the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and starvation suffered by prisoners of war and civilian internees during World War II and the hostilities in Korea." The bill would require the War Claims Commission, in cooperation with, and with the assistance of, the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to make all necessary arrangements for the conduct of medical and scientific research activities to determine the mortality rates and the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and imprisonment sustained by members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian American citizens who were imprisoned by enemies of the United States during World War II or by forces with which the United States has been engaged in armed conflict after June 25, 1950. The results of such research activities would be used by the War Claims Commission, the Veterans' Administration, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for the purpose of determining (1) the procedures and standards to be applied in the diagnosis of the mental and physical condition of former prisoners of war; (2) the life expectancy of former prisoners of war; (3) whether there is evidence to sustain a conclusive presumption of service connection in favor of former prisoners of war for purposes of hospitalization in Veterans' Administration facilities; and (4) stand ards to be applied for the evaluation of claims of American civilian and military personnel based upon the physical and mental consequences of the conditions of their imprisonment, in the event such claims are later made compensable. We would infer-from the legislative history of comparable proposals as well as from the provisions of the bill-that the "medical and scientific research activities" contemplated would not be, for the most part, long-term, fundamental research of the type conducted by the Veterans' Administration and the National Institutes of Health of the Public Health Service. Indeed, if such research were contemplated, it would seem highly undesirable to vest in the War Claims Commission the authority "to make all necessary arrangements" for the conduct of such research. Assuming, alternatively, that the research objectives of the bill are of a comparatively short-term character, and that they are closely related to questions of compensation and claims, we see nothing objectionable in the proposed assignment of responsibilities. While we would be prepared to assist and cooperate with the War Claims Commission in making the necessary research arrangements, we would not anticipate that our role in these arrangements would be a major one. Studies of the character implied by the provisions of the bill would probably have little direct relationship to the more basic research relating to nutrition conducted or supported by the Public Health Service. Conversely, fundamental long-range research, in which this Department is primarily interested, may not be well suited to the more immediate and specific objectives of H. R. 7711. For the reasons indicated above, we would interpose no objection to the provisions of the bill, but we do not believe that our interests in its provisions are sufficient to warrant a general recommendation regarding the desirability of enactment. The Bureau of the Budget advises that it perceives no objection to the submission of this report but that it concurs in the views expressed by the Veterans' Administration on this bill. Sincerely yours, NELSON A. ROCKEFELLER, Acting Secretary. Hon. CHARLES A. WOLVERTON, DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL, Washington, D. C., June 18, 1954. Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your request for comment on the bill H. R. 7711, "to provide for a study of the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and starvation suffered by prisoners of war and civilian internees during World War II and the hostilities in Korea," has been assigned to this Department by the Secretary of Defense for the preparation of a report thereon expressing the views of the Department of Defense. The purpose of this measure is to authorize and direct the War Claims Commission, in cooperation with the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs and the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, to arrange for the conduct of medical and scientific research into the mortality rates and the mental and physical consequences of malnutrition and imprisonment sustained by members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian American citizens who were imprisoned by our enemies during World War II and the Korean conflict. The results of such studies will be available for use by the War Claims Commission, the Veterans' Administration, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in making certain determinations specified in the bill. It is noted that during the 82d Congress, H. R. 304, a somewhat similar bill, passed the House of Representatives, and S. 513, also similar, passed the Senate but received no further action after a motion to reconsider the vote was entered. Since the subject matter of the bill is under cognizance of agencies of the Government other than the Department of Defense and would not directly affect personnel or operations of the military departments, the Department of the Navy, on behalf of the Department of Defense, has no recommendation or comment to make concerning H. R. 7711. This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. |